8 Precious Life Lessons from Mindy Kaling’s Why Not Me?

Remembered as a dusky, sweet, celebrity obsessed customer service representative, Kelly Kapoor from The Office has come a long way. An actor, author, comedian, director, writer and a producer, Mindy Kaling is one hell of a personality in her own way.

While working as an actor and writer for The Office, she became a famous celebrity who later created and starred in The Mindy Project. This TV series successfully ran its three seasons on Fox only to be cancelled and later getting picked by Hulu.

Mindy dropped her first book ‘Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)’ in 2011. A hilarious take on life, romance and friendship, the book still continues to be featured on USA Today’s and New York Times’ best seller lists. Not so long ago in 2015, Mindy published her second book ‘Why Not Me?’ which yet again got the spotlight and topped the New York Times’ bestselling book list.

The book has explained many life instances of Mindy as she went on to experience the journey of life by falling in love with colleagues, looking for friendship in unlikely circumstances and trying to lose weight without changing her personality. So, we thought we could take a leaf out her latest book (literally!) and give ourselves some life coaching lessons while we are at it!

1. Finding Motivation

“You will not believe me, but I did not cheat once. I think I was only able to do this because of several highly motivating factors tied to my job: James Franco was going to be on the show and I was going to have to kiss him.”

A paragraph from Mindy’s book tells us how she stuck to a strict diet and did not give in to her cravings to achieve her body goals. So why not take inspiration from her, set your own goals and be consistent about it? All you have to do is be determined about your pursuit and let nothing change your mind.

2. Flaunting It

“If you’ve got it, flaunt it. And if you don’t got it? Flaunt it.”

An excerpt from her book, this quote tells us that we should not be ashamed of the qualities we possess; rather we must embrace them, show them to the entire world and ultimately be proud of it! No matter what you do, the world is going to watch and judge you, so why not give them a show of their lifetime?

3. Learning To Let Go

“If I were going to lose weight successfully, I would have to think about what I eat constantly.”

Have you guys ever been to a beach, tried to hold onto the sand in your clenched fist and later realised that the more you try to hold onto it the more it slips away? Well, it’s the same in our life too. When you are in a difficult situation think about it with a calm mind and find solutions, and if in the end nothing works out, simply gulp it down and let go of it.

4. Be The Real You

“If you’re Natalie Dormer, you can take big fashion risks and shave half your head, and it looks good. If you’re a normal person and you try that, you just look like you had recent brain surgery.”

If you can’t fit in a situation, don’t try to. Do not do something just because it is being done by everyone and is in trend. Do what you believe is right for you. Do the things that make you feel alive. You were born not to imitate others but to be YOU.

5. Things To Bring On The Table In A Relationship

“I am the kind of person who, if my feelings are unrequited, can completely detach from someone emotionally if I simply put my mind to it. That’s why I’m always saying I would be a great serial murderer.”

If you are in a relationship, you have to give your time, trust and more importantly your love to your significant other. If there is a problem that’s bothering both of you, sit down and talk it out. Remember, it is you both are together in this and there’s always a solution to the problem and not the other way around.

6. Resort To Friends

“Try to befriend a cinematographer and have him or her light you wherever you go.”

Never be ashamed to ask for help from your friends. If you are in doubt or feeling low, talk to them. An advice from them will definitely help you solve your problem or at least give you the courage to face it.

7. Become Fearless

“I’m the kind of person who becomes silent when I get scared, because I hope death will not notice me if I am very still and very quiet.”

It is not going to be easy to make peace with your fears overnight. You have to build up courage within you to do things that you fear, fail at it, get disappointed and you will eventually get better at handling it all over time. Keep in mind, all you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.

8. Love Yourself

“My secret is: even though I wish I could be thin, and have the ease of lifestyle that I associate with being thin, I don’t wish for it with all of my heart.”

At the end of the day, you are going to be alone with your thoughts which will either make you or break you. So, make the biggest investment of your life in only one person…YOU.  Commit to yourself and create a masterpiece, not for anyone else but yourself. You know your flaws, imperfections, limits and that should not stop you from chasing your dreams. As you correct your mistakes and improve your skills don’t forget to love yourself.

The book ‘Why Not me?’, tells us a lot about life. Even though some of the best life lessons are mentioned above, I am sure there are many good ones in the book. You can learn and change your perspective to look at life differently, it’s all about changing your mindset.

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